ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Bankruptcy filings in the U.S. this past month fell by double digits, according to the latest report from The American Bankruptcy Institute.

Falling by 16 percent, total bankruptcy filings plunged as the spring season progressed.

According to data from Epiq Systems, April bankruptcy filings totaled 108,865, down from the 129,815 filings registered in April 2011.

The April total bankruptcy filings also decreased 11 percent from the March total of 122,155.

“Families and business continue to cut costs to improve their financial stability,” said ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano.

“As consumers and business remain committed to bolstering their balance sheets, bankruptcy filing rates will continue to decrease,” he noted.

And total commercial filings fell as well,  coming in at 5,132 this past month, representing a 25-percent decrease from the 6,868 filings during the same period in 2011.

Lastly, the 103,733 total noncommercial filings for April represented a 16 percent drop from the April 2011 noncommercial filing total of 122,947.

And changes to total commercial chapter 11 filings also decreased in April, ABI reported. 

“Overall, the April total commercial chapter 11 filing total of 657 represented an 18 percent decrease over April 2011’s total of 800 and a decrease of 3 percent from the March 2012 total of 680,” officials shared.

On the other hand, the average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate for the first four calendar months of 2012 increased to 4.10 (total filings per 1,000 per population) from the 4.06 rate for the first three months of the year.

That said, the average total filings per day in April 2012 fell, coming in at 3,629, a 16 percent decrease from the 4,327 total filings in April 2011.

ABI also provided the states with the highest per capita filing rate through the first four months of 2012, as follows:

1. Nevada (7.04)
2. Tennessee (7.04)
3. Georgia (6.62)
4. Utah (6.02)
5. Alabama (5.84)

ABI Names President for New Term

In other news from ABI, James Markus, of Markus Williams Young & Zimmermann LLC, has been selected by the ABI Board of Directors to be President for 2012–13.

Markus succeeds Geoffrey Berman, of Development Specialists, Inc.

The new president will serve a one-year term, which which began at ABI’s Annual Spring Meeting, held April 19–22, in Washington, D.C.

“An ABI member since 1994, Markus has served as ABI’s Vice President–Education, the founder and chair of ABI’s Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference and has been a frequent speaker at ABI conferences,” the organization noted.

Highlighting the new president’s background, Markus is a co-founder and member of Markus Williams Young & Zimmermann LLC, and is certified by the American Board of Certification as a Business Bankruptcy Specialist.

“His practice focuses representation of secured creditors, lessors, asset purchasers, official committees, debtors and trustees in commercial transactions, distressed debt transactions, workouts, restructurings, and Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings,” officials shared.

Furthermore, Markus is a former director, president and chairman of the American Board of Certification, and is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy.